“I was wrong to oppose military intervention in Libya – wrong, wrong, wrong”

[meow mix]

By Yvonne Ridley in Benghazi


“Here we go again,” I said. “Another imperialistic adventure with the long-term aim of getting our grubby hands on other peoples’ oil.”
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Of course, making grand statements from platforms in central London is one thing but going to see for myself what was happening on the ground was something else.
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My few days in Libya proved to be extremely humbling, illuminating and provided me with a reality check.
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what is undeniable is the bravery and courage of the Libyan people who we in the media routinely refer to as rebels.
These people are not rebels.
They are shopkeepers, students, doctors, businessmen and mechanics who have never owned a gun or wanted to pick one up in anger, until now.
And yet there they are tens of thousands prepared to die for freedoms and liberties they’ve never known in Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.


http://www.redress.cc/global/yridley20110430

many here could use a "reality-check" as well.

[Hissyspit]

1. And so we are going to assassinate the "King" of Bahrain?

And so we are going to assassinate Assad of Syria?

Horrible, horrible things being done in those places.

[meow mix]

2. how about, lets (international community) just do what we can.

and focus on that.

[Fool Count]

7. And what is that exactly? We (international community) can

very easily bomb the shit out of Syria. Should we do it? Bahrain? That's just too easy, we could take it
over in like under 3 minutes, given that a US Fleet is based there. Should we do that too? Why the hell not?
It will certainly be much easier than inevitable occupation of Libya to get rid of Qaddafi. Why should we
now focus on a hard job, instead of doing an easy one first?

[mmonk]

6. No. Bahrain's economic system is in our fold.

There is nothing in Syria particularly that our corporate lords desire. Therefore, regime change has not been the goal.

[JoePhilly]

12. If we can't help them all at once, don't help any now .... got it.

[Hissyspit]

14. No. You don't.

[Fool Count]

3. As if it was any different from any other warmongering NATO

propaganda piece just because the author purports to have been opposed to this war initially
and only to have changed her mind after witnessing the rebels' bravery in person. What's one more
little lie in comparison to the steaming piles of manure we have already been showered with?
Tens of thousands "prepared to die for freedoms and liberties"? You don't say, really?
According to more reputable sources there may be no more than a couple of thousand men under
arms total on the rebel side, and, from their modus operandi so far, very few of those are
prepared to die for anything. That's the murderous warmongers who need a reality check to tame
their delusions.

[Cleita]

4. Yes, it seems the propaganda wing of the Libyan

government is working hard to make themselves into martyrs.

[tabasco]

5. Kumbaya, my lord! KUMBAYA!

We should send flowers instead of bombs!


:sarcasm:

[gratuitous]

8. Ah, "reality"

A rather fungible commodity, and Ms. Ridley, despite brave pronouncements doesn't have the least clue what she's talking about. She acknowledges that there is widespread inchoate resentment towards Gaddafi, but nobody seems to have any idea just how widespread, who is involved, and whether the opposition agrees on anything except resentment toward Gaddafi. Seen in that light, many of her statements seem naive in the extreme: "It is clear to me that once Gaddafi is gone – and he will go – the Libyan people will not replace him with another tyrant or a Western puppet. Whatever government and constitution they choose will be one of their own making."

There is no doubt that Gaddafi won't live forever; no one does. But how will Libya avoid another tyrant, or choose a leader who won't be seen as a Western puppet? On tiny, niggling facts such as that, Ms. Ridley's new-found passion to send others to kill and die for her beliefs blithely defies gravity and floats off, unconcerned.

[rug]

9. This is her employer.

It is fruitful to know the source of opinion pieces.

From your link:

Press TV is an English language television network that carries news, analysis, documentary, talk shows and sports news worldwide with special focus on the Middle East. It is owned by the IRIB. Its main headquarters are located in the Iranian capital, Tehran, but it also airs programmes from its worldwide bureaus, particularly those based in Beirut (Lebanon), Damascus (Syria), London (UK), Seoul (South Korea), and Washington, D.C. (USA).

Press TV is available in most parts of the world via at least ten satellites, as well as cable and Internet.

It is free-to-air for almost all of its viewers, although some cable companies include it on their platforms. Live video, audio, and FLV streaming is also available on its website

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, or IRIB, (Persian سازمان صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران, Sāzmān-e Sedā va Sima-ye Jomhūrī-ye Eslāmī-ye Īrān), formerly called the National Iranian Radio and Television until the Islamic revolution of 1979, is a giant Iranian corporation in control of radio and television which is among the largest media organizations in Asia and Pacific region, and a regular member of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.

[Zorra]

10. Nice catch.

Lots of deliberate disinfo floating around, always wise to check sources.

Thanks!

[Cirque du So-What]

11. I've heard RWers opine

that these 'rebels' are worthless because they can't even defeat a tin-pot despot - even with NATO air support...some on an ostensibly 'democratic' website that shall go unnamed.

[JackRiddler]

13. If only Sarkozy, Berlusconi, Blair and the three US Republican senators...

hadn't been seen cavorting with Gaddafi in 2009 and 2010, the current actions might seem as though they were motivated by something other than pure opportunism.

The simultaneous uprisings of the Arab spring provide a controlled experiment.

Tunisia overthrowing Ben Ali? France should consider an invasion! (Oops, too late.)

Egyptians try to overthrow Mubarak? Support his replacement by the CIA vice-president, Suleiman!

Egyptian uprising becomes irresistible? "Oh, look, we just had a democratic conversion! Congratulations, Protesters! Really!"

Massacres in Yemen? Keep arming them. Allies! Helping kill terra-ists!

Saudi invasion of Bahrain? Support! Allies!

Libya splits in half? Order must be restored, we want oil not refugees!

All of this is predictable according to Western imperial and corporate interests, and has nothing to do with the stated humanitarian aims in whatever case. Any good the West may occasionally do in the process is incidental to that, and this reality should be something we want to change. We should want countries that pursue enlightened and common mutual interest in the world, not always play the great imperial games.

[Distant Observer]

15. The noble Cyrenaican deserve a chance to struggle for their self-determination

That does not justify the bloody civil war being expanded by massive external military power which will result in the killing of 10s of thousands of people.

[JackRiddler]

16. Yes, they do. As do the noble Bahrainis...

In general, intervention by the traditional imperialist powers has not proven to be a means for accomplishing that, however, and has usually made things worse. Endorsing it uncritically requires willed ignorance of a long history.